Today, I spent most of my day at the Big Kansas City, a conference focusing on entrepreneurship in the Midwest area. As it happened, there was something else interesting that happened today:Project Glass started sending out tweets to the new members of its Glass Explorers program – those persons who will be among the first to receive a pair of Google Glass of their own to test out.

To be one of the first, those interested had to tweet to Google with the hashtag #IfIHadGlass and their idea, along with an application and the willingness to part with $1500 if they were selected.

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Hackovate Health Announces Winners of H&R Block Health Care Innovation
Competition
H&R Block and Think Big Partners Announce the Four Winners of the Hackovate
Health Innovation cCmpetition
KANSAS CITY, Mo., March 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global health care focused innovation competition Hackovate Health came to a close when it announced four winning business ideas at the Finale event at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Organized by H&R Block and Think Big Partners, the Hackovate Health Finale brought together innovators, entrepreneurs, healthcare professionals and industry leaders for a half-day pitch fest and awards ceremony.

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Mardi Gras beads and creative head wear — including a Viking helmet — mingled with entrepreneurship-minded Kansas Citians on Friday night in a college-like mixer aimed at highlighting the local startup scene.

The area’s first “Startup Crawl” drew roughly 400 people to the six-stop event, a collaboration between Red Nova Labs and five other entities, said Carrie Royce, the chief planner for the event.

Red Nova, a Web marketing think tank in Westwood, Kan., partnered with KC Startup Village, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Think Big Partners, OfficePort and BetaBlox to showcase roughly 50 startups, said Royce, Red Nova’s chief marketing officer.

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The Pipeline entrepreneurial fellowship program has announced that Patrick Stoddart, Founder & CEO of Revdel (Kansas City, Mo.) will join the 2013 Class of Entrepreneurial Fellows.

Pipeline is an exclusive community of high-potential entrepreneurial leaders building high-growth companies throughout the Midwest Region. Each year, approximately a dozen new members representing the Region’s top entrepreneurial companies are invited to join Pipeline after an extensive selection process. New members from Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri participate in a unique and rigorous year-long business leadership development program focused on accelerating the growth of their companies. Pipeline blends workshop modules, advice from national experts and a deepening of the relationships among new and current Pipeline members.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to have been selected for Pipeline’s elite fellowship program,” said Patrick Stoddart, Founder and CEO of Revdel. “With such a rich network of mentors and advisors on both a regional and national level, Pipeline has proven its ability to accelerate high-growth startups. I can’t wait to build close relationships with other Pipeline members in the coming year and beyond.”

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Denver-based solopreneur and Kansas City native Adam Griffin has teamed up with KC-based startup accelerator Think Big Partners to launch a new health and fitness application known as Bodeefit on the Windows 8 platform. Bodeefit is a free application that sends daily Crossfit-inspired workouts, healthy Paleo-inspired recipes and tips to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Bodeefit solves the problem that many fitness enthusiasts have been looking for—an easy-to use, free application that allows workouts in any area, whether at the gym or at home, combined with a simple nutrition guide. The app sends Crossfit and bootcamp-style workouts to a user’s email Inbox or mobile phone every morning and does not require gym membership or workout equipment. Unlike many apps on the market today, Bodeefit eliminates all barriers to fitness including equipment, time, workout education, gym availability and even motivation.

“I have always had this belief that there are too many barriers to people and their fitness,” says Bodeefit founder, Adam Griffin. “Gym costs, trainer fees, confidence barriers, time in the day. Bodeefit was created to remove those barriers.”

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